Music Teaching Tips

With very minor exceptions, we do not add brain cells as we grow older; in fact, we lose them throughout the aging process. What is most important, then, is not so much how many brain cells one has but the number of interconnections among brain cells. Children raised in an impoverished sensory environment create fewer neuronal connections, while those raised in a rich sensory environment make many more. If we were to look at the brain of a child who had been stimulated with many different sights, sounds, smells, textures, and tastes, we would see a dense thicket of neuronal interconnections. Early childhood musical experiences in the form of lullabies, musical crib mobiles, and most especially, musical interactions where the baby is an active participant, can aid in the development of the neural networks necessary for later music processing (Olsho, 1984; Trehub, Bull, and Thorpe, 1984).